I have found that the change in seasons at VCU yields very particular changes in its female students. As the dogwoods bloom, piles and layers of fleece and sweatshirts give way to bare midriffs and short skirts or more suitable attire for better weather. It really is quite a sight to behold, likened to watching butterflies emerge from cocoons to show all their bright colors.
Alas, however, some monarchs’ wings are not quite as vivid as others.
It is at this particular time of year when the bitter cold of dreary, gray Richmond bends and melts under the April showers and pleasant 70s temperatures that the campus becomes filled with a new sour taste, particularly amongst its young women.
Just on the short walk from class to class, there is now a hint of challenge and threat. The larger bodies of the community quip that their twiggy counterparts should have a steak and stop throwing up after meals, while they catch the counterpoints of putting down the Twinkies and getting some exercise.
Tension rises and criticisms flare, but which one is more at risk?
One would have to be blind not to see how VCU girls are affected by standards of image. Having lived in the dorms last year, I recall with grotesque accuracy the number of girls who would obsess over the ‘Freshman Fifteens’ (or Twenties or Thirties, as some cases seemed to exaggerate) to the point of endangering themselves. It became not so much being healthy as losing that weight before some fraternity party or date.
Or one could be at the other end of the spectrum, in which they believed that weighing themselves was an act of vanity or self-insecurity, thus never caring about what they ate or in what quantities.
Neither win in the end and both are at risk, though neither realizes their own problems.
Regardless, many of these people end up in the situation where they feel there is no place to turn. Programs such as the counseling service at the VCU Office of Health Promotion are ignored and information sits stagnant while young college women go on with their unhealthy lifestyles.
But this problem cannot be blamed on the passive role of the college. Rather, one can point fingers at the friends and others who know about the problems and do nothing about them. Close girlfriends will hold back their comrades’ hair while Siegel food spills into their apartment toilets, but will they ever encourage them to stop?
A freshman may think that there is no way to shed the pounds and give in to the pizza binges on exam week, but will any upperclassman invite them to go to the gym to work off some steam?
I can only hope that maybe as the weather continues to get better, the attitudes of the women at VCU might improve as well. Most could stand to learn that the ends never justify the means.
Katherine Pugh may be reached at pughke@vcu.edu.